IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER...

I fully understand that around half of the people who vote in the United States are happy with President Obama.  I'm in the half that think his re-election is tragic for our country.  There are too many reasons why I feel this way to address in one blog.  Suffice it to say that there are numerous reasons that I'm disappointed.

I am, however, going to try to express my reasons, without much sarcasm, in the next few blogs.  In no particular order, I'll choose a topic and pour out my heart.

Not because it's the most important reason, but because I've been thinking about it lately, today I want to talk about Hispanics, Republicans, and Immigration.

I love people from Mexico and South America.  Growing up in San Diego I had lots of Mexican friends.  I've always enjoyed their culture.  And their food!!  I'm in favor of re-writing our immigration laws to make it easier for all peoples of the world to come here legally.  I know a number of illegal immigrants.  The ones I know try to be good people.  Most of them work hard.  They're good, family-oriented people.  Because we make it so hard for people to come to America legally, many if them skip the legal parts of coming here.

Many Republicans think we have to be more inclusive and understanding of Hispanics and their issues.  I'm not sure what that means.  Do we need to forget our basic beliefs that immigrants need to come here legally?  In order to get their vote, is that our only course of action?  Do we have to advocate open borders to earn their votes?  I hope not.

Many of us have the gut feeling that Hispanic people are conservative, at heart.  I think that's mostly true, but with one caveat.  I think they favor, want, and in many cases, need the American "safety net."  They want to know that if all else fails, they can get food, medical care, and other necessities through various government agencies.  What that boils down to, in my mind, is that they want the "Santa Claus" policies of the Democrats.  When they have to choose between Republicans saying, "We want to make sure everyone who wants to work has a job and we want you to come here legally," and Democrats saying, "Come on in.  Welcome home.  If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask," which are they likely to choose?

I don't see much chance of Democrats wanting to be involved in any kind of immigration reform.  Why would they want to be?  They have the Hispanics right where they want them.  Needing/wanting the government for help and mainly voting for Democrats.  Sounds like a good deal for the Dems.  

I hope we (Republicans) don't give in.  We have to do a better job of reminding Hispanics (and Democrats) about rugged individualism, American exceptionalism, and working to improve one's position in life.  

I'm not smart enough to tell the Republicans what they need to say and how they need to say it, but I will tell them that this Republican (conservative, actually, but that's another blog) doesn't want us to become Santa Claus Republicans.  We just need to find a better way to explain our position.  The old, American way doesn't work anymore.

I agree with Charles Krauthammer:  

"Romney is a good man who made the best argument he could, and nearly won.  He would have made a superb chief executive, but he, like the Clinton machine, could not match Barack Obama in the darker arts of public persuasion.

"The answer to Romney’s failure is not retreat, not aping the Democrats’ patchwork pandering.  It is to make the case for restrained, rationalized and reformed government in stark contradistinction to Obama’s increasingly unsustainable big-spending, big-government paternalism.

"Republicans:  No whimpering.  No whining.  No reinvention when none is needed.  Do conservatism. but do it better.  There’s a whole generation of leaders ready to do just that."